Economist , March 28 (posted Saturday, March 28) The Economist , like everyone else, is baffled by Boris Yeltsin's recent dismissal of his Cabinet. The cover editorial says Russia is in surprisingly decent economic shape, but Yeltsin's infirmity could quash reforms and lead to "crony capitalism" or possibly even communism. ... An editorial slams India's recent moves toward becoming a nuclear power. Hemmed in by unreliable neighbors (China and Pakistan), India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and will shortly hold a confidence vote to explore going nuclear. The move would boost the government's popularity but would provoke worldwide trade sanctions and heighten regional tensions. ... A story explains a new theory that algae create wind. Algae on the surface of the ocean emit gases that heat the air. The pressure change stirs up wind, which lifts the algae off the water and up into the clouds. The algae then travel in the clouds and are redistributed by rain. New Republic , April 13 (posted Friday, March 27) A story warns of the flood of Monica merchandise about to hit stores. Scandal-related T-shirts, wigs, berets, dolls, and sex toys are all part of what novelty sellers hope will be an $80 million payday. A pro-Clinton group called Patriotic Profits hopes to block the exploitation. ... The "TRB" column says blacks score poorly on standardized tests because they don't take test-prep courses. A prep course, which typically costs $900, can boost LSAT scores 7 points on a 60-point scale. ... An article argues that, Buchananites to the contrary, the United States is not a nativist, xenophobic country. Americans generally support immigration, and our laws still welcome law-abiding, self-supporting aliens. New York Times Magazine , March 29 (posted Thursday, March 26) The cover story argues that Kofi Annan's success in Iraq marks his arrival as the first important U.N. Secretary-General since Dag Hammarskjöld. Annan was chosen partly because the United States thought he would be "more secretary than general," but he has proved to be a wily negotiator, restrained and persuasive. He now must convince the United States to accept a powerful United Nations--and to pay the $1 billion it owes the organization. (For Slate 's take on Annan, see David Plotz's "Assessment.") ... A story follows Mary Bono's bid to assume her late husband Sonny's seat in Congress. Widowhood wins votes: Between 1916 and 1993, "84 percent of first-time female candidates for the House who were running to succeed their dead husbands won their races." Only 14 percent of other first-time female candidates won. Bono leads all opponents despite lacking any political experience. On her side: Her main opponent is best known for having played Pa on The Waltons . Time and Newsweek , March 30 (posted Tuesday, March 24) The magazines split over Kathleen Willey. Time 's revelations: 1) Willey friend Julie Steele says Willey asked Steele to lie to Newsweek (Willey asked Steele to confirm Willey's claim that the president groped her). 2) In 1995, Willey took revenge on a lover named Shaun Docking by faking a pregnancy and miscarriage and asking Steele to lie about it. 3) Democratic donor Nathan Landow, accused of trying to silence Willey's testimony against Clinton, may in fact have been the target of Willey's romantic advances--"an easy mark for a calculating gold digger." Newsweek 's story grants that some flaws have been exposed in Willey's character but asserts that her story regarding her encounter with Clinton (as told to Newsweek last July) has remained unchanged. Both magazines print Willey's letters to Clinton, post-incident, in which she lobbies for a job. Newsweek goes U.S. News , with a "news you can use" education cover package. It claims parents are hiring tutors to supplement their children's public-school educations. Why? To counteract mushy curricula (whole math, multiculturalism) and keep pace on the highly competitive college track. Newsweek (more U.S. News plagiarism) also ranks the country's top 100 public high schools. Time 's cover story, pegged to Clinton's Africa tour, says the continent is not the economic basket case it used to be: A number of countries (Uganda, Ghana, Eritrea, Mali) are embracing free market capitalism and thriving. ... Also, Time visits Nike factories in China and Vietnam and rejects claims that the company exploits workers. The plants are "modern, clean, well lighted and ventilated, and paying decent wages by local standards." However, workers still have no voice at the plants and "fear reprisal from bosses." U.S. News & World Report , March 30 (posted Tuesday, March 24) Like Newsweek , U.S. News goes with a kid cover story. U.S. News calculates the cost of raising a child from birth to age 22: more than $1.45 million. Most of that is lost parental wages, but the average middle-class 15-year-old costs $1,920 per year to feed. Nachos aren't cheap. The New Yorker , March 30 (posted Tuesday, March 24) An article applauds the growing automation of medicine: Computers using statistical evidence make more accurate diagnoses than doctors, who are misled by irrelevant "human" factors. Some doctors have responded by becoming more like computers: One Canadian hospital does nothing but hernia operations, and its automaton-like doctors have become the world's best hernia surgeons. ... An essay claims, regretfully, that we lose our taste for new music, food, and fashion by age 35. It's possible to have big, new ideas after that age, but usually you have to change disciplines to do so. ... The lead article in the large fashion package is a profile of "fabulous monster" Leigh Bowery, a profoundly weird, masochistic clothing designer/performance artist. Bowery wore scab makeup and pubic wigs, dribbled glue over his skull, slept with a tea cozy on his head, and vomited and shat on his audiences. The London fashion world adored him, of course. (He was also Lucian Freud's chief model.) Weekly Standard , March 30 (posted Tuesday, March 24) Dick Morris predicts a Republican landslide in the 1998 elections but a Gore victory in 2000 (because voters want a split government). The scandals, plus the traditional off-year swing against the president's party, will drive voters toward clean-cut Republican candidates. ... The Standard runs a damaging still taken from an ABC News videotape: The prez is gripping the thigh of the flight attendant seated next to him on a 1992 campaign flight. In the next frame (not shown), the attendant allegedly pushes away Clinton's hand. The Nation , April 6 (posted Tuesday, March 24) The cover story defends Ron Carey, ex-Teamsters president, claiming Carey was unfairly booted from the union without due process. While aides may be guilty of laundering campaign money, much evidence suggests that Carey was unaware of their transgressions. ... An essay calls for liberals to stop bashing organized religion. There needs to be a "Christian Left" that recognizes the strong faith much of America holds. ... A "manifesto" proclaims the beginning of "Technorealism." The platform: strong ambivalence toward technology, shunning of both technophobia and technophilia. For Slate 's take on the movement, see Michael Kinsley's "Readme" from March 21. --Seth Stevenson